Environmental Studies

This course examines the connection of global and local environments. Case studies will include historical responses to climate change in Europe and North America, the transformation of indigenous foodways and the urban development of Vancouver. 

This course examines the scientific basis for, impacts of, and law and policy responses to climate change.

This course examines the use of economic tools to assess and develop environmental protection strategies. This includes methods for evaluating “environmentally friendly” products, projects and policies in terms of their benefits and costs. Benefits considered include marketed benefits, such as energy savings and avoided property losses, and non-marketed benefits, such as improvements in human health and conservation of biological diversity. Economic tools for solving environmental problems that will be considered in the subject include taxes on environmentally harmful activities, tax deductions for “environmentally friendly” activities, making polluters or “risk creators” pay for environmental damages, and allowing private ownership of environmental assets.

This course entails completing an interdisciplinary group project on a topic of relevance to the scientific or wider community. 

This course provides a study of the main environmental risks and challenges posed by human activity. It also examines current debates on the sustainability of economic growth and the problems of global governance posed by environmental challenges. Other topics covered include: industrial exploitation and the global ecological crisis; stocks, market and environment; environmental degradation and global governance; urban planning and sustainability; development and corporate environmental responsibility; ethics, regulations and environmental justice.

This course explores the relationship between humans and the environment through history from the perspective of the interaction between nature and the environment.
 

Course Objective

1.         Have a basic understanding of quantitative instrumental analysis that involves electromagnetic radiation, spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, electrochemistry, and chromatography.

2.         Be familiar with modern methods for the analyses of chemical substances in a variety of matrices, and the interpretation of data obtained from such analyses. 

3.         Be able to do calculations associated with the quantitative instrumental analyses.

4.         Be able to draw conclusions based on analyses and calculations.

Instrumentation course will introduce the basis of electromagnetic radiation, Mass Spectra as well as chromatography. Students in this course will understand the theories, methodology, and structure of the related instruments.

This course will use “Principles of Instrumental Analysis” as the major reference book, combined with knowledge of up to date modern instruments (from department lab as well as the newest literature). Student will have the elemental capability to solve practical problems by using various instruments. 

This course takes students through a process of identifying, planning, managing, analyzing and reporting on a project relating to a problem or issue in either urban or forested ecosystem. Selection of the problem or issue is led by students and is structured to explore ecological, environmental, social, spatial, temporal and economic related topics.

This course examines reasons for, and design and implementation of, environmental monitoring in New Zealand. Skills in data collection, management, presentation, and interpretation are developed for a range of environments using both field data collection and published data-sets.